In Memory Of The Fallen

[Larks P.O.V.]

Mariana's body was never recovered, but a headstone was placed next to Jenni's on the cliff that was suspended over the Lake Of Tears. As I climbed the hill today, alone per usual, I gripped a picture in my hand.
Jenni's grave had a picture placed on it during her funeral, but since Mariana never had a funeral there wasn't for her.
The wind whispered and sang haunting tunes as it always did, and the pebbles weighed down the paper as I let go, pulling the wilting roses from the two pale headstones. I replaced each blackened flower with a new one, cut this morning from the rose garden. I placed a kiss on my fingertips and tapped them against the top of each engraved marble slab.

And when the autumn comes
The leaves will fall and crumble
I'll feel my way through the dark
And try not to stumble

My mother will look at me
My father will glance back
My sister will stay and brush my hair
And carefully pin the slack

When the winter falls on me
And I'm too tired to walk
He'll carry me through the snow
And in my ear he'll talk

In the spring he'll set me down
I'll walk on my own feet again
He'll hold my hand and pull me close
And teach me how to stand

In the hot days of summer
My leaves prepare to fall
I almost drown in my thoughts
In memories of them all

And when my final days are near
He'll lay me down to rest
My head will lie on wooden boards
My hands crossed on my chest

The rain will pound against my grave
Where people come to mourn
But they're washed away by the wind again
When the crows land on the stone

The lake of tears they've cried for me
Will do no one any good
I'll simply drift like autumn leaves
Detached from the wood

Once I've said goodbye the crow lands, and I'm turning to go back down the hill.
Nothing stops me. Nothing propels me forward. I'm stuck in neutral.
Even the memories of Mariana and Jenni can't kick me into gear.
The memories, if anything, are holding me back.